Author: Leslie Perkins

A banker said the company’s new solar loan program did more volume in six months than the home equity-based one did in four years. Getty Images.Smaller, regional banks and credit unions are increasingly looking to help homeowners finance solar installations in a sign of growing recognition of the opportunities in clean energy finance. In the Midwest, Iowa-based Decorah Bank & Trust is among the latest to begin marketing loans for solar and other clean energy projects. The community bank recently relaunched a digital subsidiary called Greenpenny to serve residential and commercial customers in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. It…

Getty Images.Minnesota’s State Public Defender Bill Ward faces a vote of no confidence from union public defenders, who say he has failed to advocate for the office and allowed morale to reach its lowest point in decades. Minnesota’s roughly 470 public defenders and 200 support staff began receiving ballots in the mail on Monday from Teamsters Local 320, the union that represents them, asking if they have confidence in Ward’s leadership. Along with the ballot, the leaders of the Teamsters Local 320 included a letter obtained by the Reformer that encourages members to vote no confidence, saying Minnesota Public Defense…

House Democrats applaud after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) signed the Inflation Reduction Act during a bill enrollment ceremony after the House passed the legislation at the U.S. Capitol August 12, 2022 in Washington, DC. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Friday cleared Democrats’ long-sought climate, health care and tax package, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The roughly $750 billion measure is much smaller than the $2 trillion reconciliation package the House originally sent to the Senate in November. The final product left out dozens of provisions, including expanded child…

A vote here sign at a polling place in Hugo in November 2020. Photo by Max Nesterak/minnesotadigest.com.Minnesotans who haven’t voted in the primary election have a final chance Tuesday, with a number of high-profile races including a DFL primary challenge for U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar from former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels; a DFL primary challenge for U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum from progressive activist Amane Badhasso; a winnowing of the field to determine the next Hennepin County attorney; and, a special election in the 1st Congressional District to determine who will serve out the remainder of the late U.S.…

Laura Ingraham of Fox News interviews two Minneapolis police officers about the aftermath of George Floyd’s police murder more than two years ago. Fox News screenshot. Fox News host Laura Ingraham recently aired a segment in Minneapolis where she interviewed police officers and painted a grim picture of the city.  Ingraham interviewed Lt. Jeff Waite and Sgt. Andrew Schroeder as they walked around the former Third Precinct police station, which was destroyed in the riots after George Floyd’s police killing in May 2020. “It’s a monument to anarchy,” she said.  “It’s a shock that this is allowed to stand.” The…

Getty Images.A district judge recently ordered the Scott County Attorney’s Office to “do better” and make “swift and positive change” after finding the office suppressed evidence that was favorable to a former Eden Prairie wrestling coach charged with sexually assaulting a girl on his team. Mustafa Shabazz, 45, was acquitted of assaulting that 11-year-old Shakopee girl. The Shakopee case began in February 2020, when the mother of an 11-year-old girl reported to police that her daughter told her Shabazz inappropriately touched her under the guise of hugging.  During the investigation, another allegation in Eden Prairie came to light, and sexual…

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., departs the Senate floor following a vote to proceed to the Inflation Reduction Act on August 6, 2022 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate plans to work through the weekend to vote on amendments to the Inflation Reduction Act, expected to conclude on Sunday, August 7, 2022. Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images. The U.S. Senate voted along party lines Saturday night to advance to debate on Democrats’ sweeping energy, health and taxes bill, clearing a major hurdle to passage. The 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie, cleared the chamber to…

Kitty Lu (left) and Sarah Beth Ryther are trying to unionize Trader Joe’s in downtown Minneapolis. Photo by Max Nesterak/minnesotadigest.com.Workers at the Trader Joe’s in downtown Minneapolis will vote next week in the grocery chain’s second union election in the country. The election comes just two weeks after workers in Hadley, Mass., were the first to unionize Trader Joe’s, as organizing drives continue to spread at national chains including Starbucks, Apple and Amazon. Sarah Beth Ryther, one of the leaders of the union effort in Minneapolis, said workers are seeking better wages, more safety protections and a greater voice in…

Gov. Tim Walz and Republican-endorsed challenger Scott Jensen had their first debate for Minnesota governor at FarmFest in rural Morgan, Minnesota, on Wednesday. Photo by Michelle GriffithMORGAN, MINN. — Gov. Tim Walz and his Republican opponent Scott Jensen shared a stage for the first time Wednesday at Farmfest, where they debated COVID-19, school spending and the government’s role in the lives of Minnesotans.  In an audience full of farmers and ag industry workers, crowds loudly cheered for Jensen when he criticized Walz for his COVID-19 executive orders, and when he implied Walz bore responsibility for Twin Cities crime rates. “We…

Preserving crop insurance is a major priority. Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images. Major U.S. agricultural production groups are pulling together their requests for the next farm bill — the massive legislation that Congress rewrites every five years to set farm and food policy — with crop insurance and disaster assistance on the top of their lists.  A panel of executives from farm groups detailed some of their concerns and requests for the next farm bill Tuesday at the Minnesota FarmFest, an agribusiness fair organized by the American Farm Bureau.  The panel brought together major agriculture groups representing pork, cattle, corn,…